Sharing good times
What to do during the school vacations, going fishing with your teenager is one possibility. At a time when people are talking about putting (difficult) teenagers in boarding schools during the vacations to give them a new basis for living together, there are other possibilities. Why not simply share moments with them? Battle, of course, is an excuse to spend time together, chatting quietly along the water, while taking a lesson in nature. Fishing is a shared activity, and these intergenerational moments are beneficial to both parties.
Trout fishing with toc
Trout fishing is as simple as it is effective. We practice it on the headwaters of the coastal rivers of the Abers region, in the land of the Côte des Légendes. Here, we don't release pelleted trout, just wild brown trout with magnificent coats dotted with black or red spots, and white edgings on their fins. They can be mistaken for young salmon, or parr, which live in the same biotopes for the first two years of their lives.
It's still physical fishing, at least the way we do it. Shoulder bag for the small gear, a 3.90 m rod with a reel fitted with a good 14/00, 12/00 leader, two line indicators mounted on it and a fine iron hook with crushed barb. We travelled down the river for miles, the worm on the hook drifting along the bottom with the current, waiting for the famous "toc toc" when the trout hit. It's the famous "toc toc" that gives this fishing technique its name.
The battle can begin
From the very first meters, the bites follow one another, quite a few unhooked, of course, due to the crushed barb rig, but we land a few on the banks. The kid opens the ball, 1-0. I follow up with 2 fish, 2-1. He evens the score at 2-2 with a pretty 25 cm. I keep pulling them out as he lands several, and the morning ends 5-2.
In a meadow, we stay to stroke a few horses that have come to join us, hoping for an apple or a piece of bread. It's time to return to the car and head for our snack spot. The break is always a privileged moment, open to confidences. It's the time to listen, and this quiet moment is ideal for that.
After a short hour's break and discussion, we resume our match on two other streams. All these streams are still clogged with the remains of successive damage caused by this winter's storms. Many of the trees are in the water, making it difficult to get around or over them. The kid makes up some of his lost ground, 5-3, 5-4, and I regain the lead a little, 6-4, 7-4, 8-4. We decide to change rivers one last time. This last river is a little less crowded and has a stronger current. It's also more frequented by brown trout, so we keep catching and missing.
Sometimes we hook several over a few meters. 9-4, 9-5, 9-6, we also observe a lot of life on the banks, ducks, coypu, multiple footprints at the water's edge. Fishing is also about observation, enjoying the natural world around us. The match continued, 10-6, 10-7, 11-7, 12-7. It's on this honourable score that we end our little jaunt, all the fish having been returned to the water in great shape.
The teenager in him has woken up and he doesn't want to miss the snack. At that age, he's always hungry!
We had an excellent time in this wild, tranquil environment. We didn't run into anyone, but we talked to each other, about things that will stay with us forever. In short, we strengthened the bond between grandfather and grandson. No screen, no TV, we didn't even have cell phone reception all afternoon. I can tell you that he didn't hang around in the evening and slept well, and neither did Grandpa...
